Press Release

Big Cities Health Coalition receives funding through CDC’s National Partners Cooperative Agreement

October 2024

Two Shelby County Health Department professionals at a table providing information to families about how to prevent lead poisoning in children.
Photo courtesy of Shelby County Health Department
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The funding supports workforce development and data modernization in the largest US urban health departments.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | OCTOBER 7, 2024

Washington, DC—The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has selected the Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) as one of 42 recipients of the National Partners Cooperative Agreement, also known as Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health. 

This five-year award, BCHC’s first from CDC, represents a significant investment in the Coalition’s capacity to support public health infrastructure, workforce development, and data modernization in America’s largest urban areas. 

“This is a critical time for governmental public health,” said Chrissie Juliano, MPP, BCHC’s executive director. “This award will allow us to significantly expand support to our members, the nation’s largest metropolitan health departments, including helping them learn from each other’s successes and develop a pipeline of public health professionals. We are grateful to CDC and look forward to continue collaborating with our members and partners to protect and promote the public’s health.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT BCHC’S WORK TO PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE & INFRASTRUCTURE

The National Partners Cooperative Agreement represents a major CDC investment as its funding supports organizations across the public health ecosystem to enhance knowledge and skills and plan for and implement infrastructure improvements. 

BCHC will use the award to:

  • develop a “Health Officer Academy” to provide new directors of big city health departments with additional mentorship and support;
  • convene a cohort of senior deputy directors from BCHC member departments to support their development as the next generation of public health leaders;
  • develop a menu of supports for big city health departments in their work to confront root causes of inequities and improve health and quality-of-life outcomes;
  • convene cohorts of both data modernization leads and communications staff to share best/promising practices and tools; and
  • expand and maintain the Big Cities Health Inventory data platform and produce a host of data products.

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The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) is a forum for the leaders of America’s largest metropolitan health departments to exchange strategies and jointly address issues to promote and protect the health and safety of their residents. Collectively, BCHC member jurisdictions directly impact more than 61 million people, or one in five Americans.

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